Forgotten by Hollywood, struggling with morphine addiction and a dependency on alcohol, at the end of his life Bela Lugosi was welcomed into a rag tag bunch of micro-budget movie-making freaks led by Edward D. Wood Jr,, who would later become known as the worst filmmaker of all time. Through their collaborations on movies like Glen or Glenda? and Bride of the Monster, did Ed Wood help Bela, exploit him, or a little of both? Featuring Taran Killam as Bela Lugosi and Noah Segan as Ed Wood.

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Bela Lugosi's Dead” by Bauhaus. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Waltz For Cello 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "Mystery Minute 1" by Anders Ekengren, "Mercy Of The Wind 1" by Peter Sandberg, "Mercy Of The Wind 5" by Peter Sandberg, "Optical Delusion 3" by Håkan Eriksson, "Some Autumn Waltz 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "Eccentric Vibes 4" by Håkan Eriksson, "Reflectif" (artist unknown), "At The Riviera 1" by Peter Sandberg, "Gagool" by Kevin MacLeod, "Etude No 3 For String Quartet" by Peter Sandberg,

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Featuring Taran Killam as Bela Lugosi and Noah Segan as Ed Wood. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

With Dracula (1931), Bela Lugosi instantly became the first horror star of sound cinema. It’s not easy being a trailblazer, and Bela would have difficulty capitalizing on his newfound stardom. In this episode we’ll discuss how Dracula made him, and trapped him, and trace the subsequent vampire roles that became his bread and butter.

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Darkness” by The Human League. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: “Waltz for Cello 1” by Jonatan Järpehag, “Clumsy Detective 01 and 02” by Thomas Lundgren, “Reflectif” (Artist unknown), “Mystery Minute 5” by Anders Ekengren, “Victoria's Vintage Pearls 2” by Peter Sandberg, “Bad Guy Approaching” by Merlean, “Vampires Suck” by Jon Björk, “Chant” (uncredited) from White Zombie (1932), “Russian Dance Off” by Håkan Eriksson, “Some Autumn Waltz 1” by Jonatan Järpehag, “Playful and Slightly Mysterious Orchestral” by Gavin Luke, “Quirky Orchestra 5” by Josed Habib.

Credits:

This episode was edited by Sam Dingman and Jacob Smith, and produced by Karina Longworth with the assistance of Lindsey D. Schoenholtz. Special thanks to Taran Killam who guest stars as Bela Lugosi. Our logo was designed by Teddy Blanks.

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff were two middle-aged, foreign, struggling actors who became huge stars thanks to Dracula and Frankenstein, the first two of a trend of monster movie hits released by Universal Studios during the 1930s. This season, we’ll discuss their parallel but very different lives and careers. Today, we’ll start by exploring where each man came from, what they were doing before they got to Universal, and why Universal began making monster movies in the first place.

All of the music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro and outro, is from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca. Outro song: “Everyday is like Halloween” by Ministry. Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode: "Waltz for Cello 1" by Jonatan Järpehag, "Russian Dance Off " by Håkan Eriksson, "Reflectif" (Artist Unknown), "Kingdom of Baghk" by Vusal Zeinalov, Audio from the film King of Jazz (1930), "Gagool" by Kevin MacLeod, "At the Riviera" by Peter Sandberg, "Some Autumn Waltz 1" by Jonatan Järpehag.